I began Week 3 of the eDiets program with a breakfast of Stuffed French Toast with Blackberry-Apricot Compote. The French toast consisted of a slice of whole wheat bread, cut in half, with a strawberry yogurt-cream cheese filling sandwiched between the two half-slices. A spoonful of the compote was spread on top.

The heating instructions said to microwave the entrée on high for 30 seconds. I know my microwave oven normally requires a longer time period, but I didn’t want to risk overcooking the bread, so I first heated it for 35 seconds. This didn’t quite make it warm enough, so I nuked it for another 5 seconds.

I added some nonfat, plain Greek yogurt to the meal to serve as the dairy component the dieter is instructed to supply.

This dinner entrée consisted of about a cup of whole wheat linguini with a medium-sized salmon fillet atop. A small amount of light tomato-based sauce coated both the noodles and the salmon.

I was to provide items from the dairy and fruit sections of the food pyramid to supplement the meal. I decided to top the main dish with some shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese and add a serving of unsweetened, frozen mixed berries (thawed).

The heating instructions called for microwaving the meal on high for 1 to 1 ½ minutes. I added an additional 15 seconds since my microwave oven tends to require a longer cooking time.

My General Impressions

I normally don’t care for salmon, but I wanted a meatless dinner on this particular evening, and this was the only one I found on this week’s list of substitution meals. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised.

Do you want to be the symbol for the heart attack? Do you have belly fat, high blood pressure, elevated glucose levels, or abnormal cholesterol levels? If you have one or more of these symptoms then you may have Metabolic Syndrome. New data shows the best way to avoid metabolic syndrome is through increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, increasing physical activity, and lowering body mass index (BMI). In other words, eat right, exercise more, and lose weight!

Hearts Beat Back: The Heart of New Ulm Project

It is a cohesive team unit that seeks to create a community of health. This partnership, consisting of the Allina Hospitals, the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, and the New Ulm Medical Center, is a one of a kind initiative to reduce heart attacks in the New Ulm community. They call it the Hearts Beat Back: The Heart of New Ulm Project.

Is it nuts to believe that you can increase your mortality by eating more nuts? In a recent study published by the New England Journal of Medicine, scientists found that daily nut consumers were 20% less likely to die from any cause than those who didn’t consume nuts. Moreover; the regular nut-eaters were also more slender than those who didn’t eat any nuts, debunking the widespread myth that increased nut consumption leads to excessive weight gain.

Methodology

While there have been previous studies linking nut consumption to lowered risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and colon cancer, there are few studies that delve into nut consumption and overall mortality. The new research, lead by scientists from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Harvard School of Public Health, was the largest and longest study of it’s kind.

Numbers do not lie. When you step on a scale, the number shown is your weight. Regardless of what you think it should be, the number is correct. Now once you receive that information, it now becomes your turn to decide what to do. Do those numbers influence you to take action to eat better and exercise more? Or do you acknowledge the weight and continue with your same habits?

The numbers on the calorie charts posted at fast food chains do not lie also. The McDonald’s premium crispy chicken club sandwich packs on 670 calories and the chocolate shake is 550 calories. Once you see the calories, what do you do with that information? Do you turn around and hightail it straight to the closest salad bar? Or do you simply acknowledge the calories and continue to order what you want anyways? If you picked the latter, you are not unlike most Americans.

Everybody has heard doctors and therapists say it before--that exercising regularly is one of the best things that you can do to treat depression and make yourself feel better. Keeping your body active (exercising) releases endorphins in your brain, the chemicals that make you feel good and give you a feeling of well-being. Additionally exercising seems to have more benefits. As per a new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, one of the world’s leading peer-reviewed full text publications, exercise can prevent episodes of depression in the long run.

The Study

The study shows a correlation associated with physical health and exercising. It concludes that, in addition to leading to weight loss and good physical shape, which carry many benefits in their own right, exercise is one of the leading methods of maintaining good and strong mental health as well as preventing the onset of depression later in life. This correlates and falls into place nicely with the continuously growing pile of evidence that associates obesity with depression, and comes as good news to those looking to treat these common problems found in millions of Americans.

Look everywhere, especially in the health and fitness industry, and you will find high protein powders, shakes, and snack bars for exercise enthusiasts. While the reasoning may vary from person to person, the general consensus is that proteins curbs hunger better than carbohydrates. In a new research project, presented at the Obesity Society’s annual scientific meeting, researchers found that eating a high protein breakfast curbed hunger throughout the day as compared to eating a high carbohydrate meal or skipping breakfast. When making breakfast for yourself, opt for the lean sausage and egg omelet meals or try a protein shake. Avoid the pancakes, bagels, and waffles as they only lead women to snack more later on in the day.

The gold standard for measuring obesity is Body Mass Index (BMI), a formula that calculates an individual’s weight to their height squared. BMI is not a perfect measure but it gives an strong indication whether a person is overfat. New studies indicate that waistline circumference measurements may be more accurate at assessing obesity than BMI.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

They say people get wiser as they age, but new statistics show that people also get wider as they age. Current statistics show that almost 40% of men and women are becoming obese as they age. Researchers from the University of Glasgow assessed data from the Health Survey of England and the Scottish Health Survey comparing two periods of time, 1994-1996 and 2008-2010. Researchers looked at BMI and waist circumference changes for both men and women during the two periods. Any significant changes between the two periods were documented and recorded.

Everybody knows that blueberries are a super fruit. Wild blueberries have been long touted to help combat disease and promote healthy aging. The latest research, published in the journal of Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, showed that long-term wild blueberry diets may help improve pathologies associated with metabolic syndrome. Diseases most associated with metabolic syndrome are cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome affects 37% of adults in the United States. The term is used to describe a cluster of risk factors characterized by obesity, hypertension, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, diabetes, and heart disease. Dr. Klimis-Zacas, Professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Maine and co-author of the study, explains that there are properties in food that have the potential to prevent metabolic syndrome. He explores the idea that food can be medicine. By eating the correct foods, the need for medication and medical intervention is reduced significantly.

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book, so goes an Irish saying. A recently published study, in the journal Pediatrics, proves that the Irish were unleashing pearls of wisdom when they recommended a long sleep.

The study, headed by a Temple University professor, was an attempt to draw a correlation between the amount of sleep school children have and the children’s weight and food intake.

As you may be aware, childhood obesity has been skyrocketing over the years, and in the US, 17% of children have developed obesity. A confluence of factors, such as super-sized portions, sugary drinks and general inactivity, have been implicated in the surge in the prevalence of childhood obesity. However, the role of other factors, such as the duration of sleep, have not been fully investigated, even though previous studies have often found a causal relationship between sleep and obesity.

The purpose of this study then was to find out how sleep, or lack thereof, could be a contributing factor in childhood obesity.